Industry Insider
Your industry years are the head start.
Founders with three or more years in their industry are more than twice as likely to build a top-growth company. WE adds the company-building team you have not had yet.
For anyone with three or more years in one industry who is leaving, or about to leave, an employer to build a company in that same industry. Often a spinout.
You already have the hardest thing to get: the industry years. WE brings the company-building years.
What usually gets in the way
- Deep knowledge of the field, and little practice at hiring a first team, setting up finance, running go-to-market or governance.
- A reputation built over years that a shaky launch would spend.
- Savings on the line while the company finds its feet.
What WE does
- A dedicated team, steered by WE, from first customer to operating company.
- A plan paced to the real business clock, with reviews at years one, three and five.
- You stay the expert and keep every decision. WE answers for how the team runs.
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0.26%
top-growth rate with 3+ years in the same industry, against 0.11% with none
Azoulay, Jones, Kim and Miranda, Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship . Founders of 2007 to 2009.
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45.0
mean founder age of the fastest-growing 1 in 1,000 new U.S. firms (41.9 for all that hire)
Azoulay, Jones, Kim and Miranda, Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship . Founders of 2007 to 2009 (41.9 covers 2007 to 2014).
These figures describe all new U.S. businesses, not WE's results.
Industry years and top growth
Share of founders who build a top 1 in 1,000 growth firm: 0.26% with three or more years in the same industry, 0.11% with no experience in it.
These figures describe all new U.S. businesses, not WE's results.
Share of founders who build a top 1 in 1,000 growth firm: 0.26% with three or more years in the same industry, 0.11% with no experience in it.
Source: Azoulay, Jones, Kim and Miranda, Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship .
Show the data
| Group | Percent of founders |
|---|---|
| Three or more years in the same industry | 0.26% |
| No experience in the industry | 0.11% |
Questions people ask
- I know my industry better than any consultant.
- Agreed. WE does not replace your expertise. WE supplies the company-building you have not done yet: the first team, the finance, the go-to-market and the records.
- I can hire a fractional operations lead.
- You can, for one function and part of the week. WE brings a whole team and one steering hand, and it is built to stay through years three to five.
- How is WE paid?
- WE is paid for work already done. The agreement sets every term before you sign.
The long game
Move fast every week. Build for the decade.
Your experience lets you move fast every week. The years a company takes to settle are still the years, and WE plans for them.
Every week
Fast, and written down.
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1 Plan The week’s cycle is set in writing. -
2 Build A dedicated team ships the work. -
3 Report A written status, every week. -
4 Decide You say yes or no to the next cycle.
Every year
Patient, because the odds turn slowly.
Most new businesses close in the first five years. After that, each year survived makes the next more likely. WE paces the work to that curve.
Join the programs that fit
Use what you know, and the programs built for it.
Years inside an industry are a head start. Programs that match your field turn that head start into introductions and early customers.
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Industry-specific programs
Programs run with the sector you already know.
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Investor communities
Angel groups and investor relations events that back founders with domain depth.
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Local small business support
Advisers and regional networks near you.
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SBIR and STTR
If the problem you know is one a federal agency pays to solve, SBIR and STTR topics are written for exactly that.
Independent programs that WE encourages founders to consider. No affiliation or endorsement is implied. WE works alongside them, for the long run.
How it fits
The core of the business can be built on a screen: software, a digital product, or a service run on software and expertise. You can fund a team from revenue, savings, outside capital or a corporate budget.
Sources
- Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship (Azoulay, Jones, Kim and Miranda), NBER Working Paper 24489, National Bureau of Economic Research . Accessed October 14, 2026.